A set of bagpipes typically includes a blowpipe, an airbag, several drone pipes and a chanter pipe. The chanter pipe is the one which includes a number of finger holes, often referred to herein as wall openings, by means of which the pitch of the chanter can be changed to play tunes. The present invention is limited to features to be incorporated in a variable pitch hand held musical pipe instrument such as a bagpipe chanter. Accordingly, the description is confined to a variable pitch pipe instrument, and insofar as this invention relates to bagpipes, the arrangement of the rest of the set of bagpipes is understood to be conventional. The invention is described specifically in conjunction with the chanter pipe for a set of bagpipes. However, it will be understood that it may be useful with other hand held musical pipe instruments as well.
The chanter for which this invention is particularly useful is known as an Irish war pipe chanter, or as a Scottish highland chanter. The term "chanter", as used in this specification, is understood to refer to that type of chanter. Such a chanter has eight longitudinally spaced wall openings which are intended to be selectively covered by the fingers of the player to produce the notes "G", "A", "B", "C", "D", "E", "F", "G", and "A".
In order to extend the range of a bagpipe chanter, various efforts have been made to provide for additional notes at the bottom and at the top of the normal bagpipe range. One of these typical efforts is illustrated, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,069,200 issued on Aug. 5, 1913 to Henry Starck for a Bagpipe Chanter. That patent provides for a substantially modified chanter employing key operated vent plates for selectively covering added wall openings for the purpose of extending the range of the chanter. The key actuated vent plates are of the conventional construction which is presently used on other pipe instruments such as saxophones and clarinets.
However, there are important disadvantages in such a structure. For instance, with the use of key operated vent plates, it is difficult to produce trilling notes involving the rapid opening and closing of the wall opening associated with the vent plate. Thus, the musical result is not as desirable and pleasing. Furthermore, a considerable change in technique is required for the actuation of the keys provided in such prior patents. Still further, the substantial modification of the chanter pipe, and the addition of the rather complicated key operated vent plate can be a very expensive modification to the standard bagpipe chanter.
Furthermore, with such an arrangement for extending the range, the modification of the bagpipe chanter must be very substantial, and is necessarily irreversible. Since bagpipe chanters are expensive, and since tastes and preferences may vary with regard to the extension of the range of the bagpipe chanter, it is undesirable to make a modification which cannot be reversed to permit the bagpipe chanter to be again used without the range extension feature.
Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide an extended range hand held musical pipe instrument which provides a better result in terms of greater virtuosity in play, including the facility for ease in producing trilling notes.
Another object of the invention is to produce a modification for a hand held musical pipe instrument which is very economical, and yet very effective.
Another object of the invention is to provide a hand held musical pipe instrument, such as a bagpipe chanter, which has extended range features which are operable with a minimum in change in operating technique.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved range extension modification for a bagpipe chanter which does not substantially modify the basic structure of the chanter, and which can, for the most part, be removed, to easily restore the chanter to substantially its original condition.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.